The Shadow of Night
OK. This is my first Faniction, and it could use a little work. I'm sorry if it sucks, but here it is so far. Some of these names came from other people, so I wanted to give them credit. They know who they are!! Rainfire 01:53, March 27, 2010 (UTC) Rainfire -Prologue- After the familiar faces took the unruly cat off of my paws, I continued to search for what I sought. And there I found them. Pelt to pelt, eye to eye, strike to strike, they were equal. They were together but they couldn't have been further apart. I had learned to tell between them, but the fire in their eyes was equal, and all recognization was lost. As they dissapeared amongst the fighting WindClan cats, another rouge slammed into my side, and the fight was on again. Chapter 1 "Is ahe awake yet?" I heard from across the nursery. "Hush Nightkit. She was born two days ago. Give her time," purred a queen. I felt a prodding in my side. "Wake up you stupid kit! Open your eyes!" another voice, a bit deeper than Nightkit's, said. "Shadowkit! Redkit is not stupid! Get over here!" growled the queen. "It's OK Redkit," whispered my brother, Solarkit, "Open your eyes whenever you feel like it." He rasped his tongue over my ear and I purred. I slept curled next to Solarkit. I raised my head and fidgeted a bit. I felt Solarkit sit up. He was a light sleeper, and was easily awakened. "Redkit, are you ready to open your eyes?" he asked. I nodded and opened them. Everything was so big and interesting, but I looked at my mother first. She was a stunning russet she-cat. Her eyes, watching me, were like big pools of green. Reflecting in them, I saw my own eyes. One gold and one that was all red except for my pupil. She opened her white muzzle and said, "I think I know what your Warrior name will be." I purred and looked at my brother. He had fluffy ginger fur and green eyes like our mother. His white tipped tail flicked when he saw my eyes. "Cool!" he exclaimed. He purred at me and said, "Your fur is so nice!" I craned my neck to see my fur. It was shaggy and russet colored. "The sleeper has awakened," said Nightkit from across the nursery. I looked over and saw him and his twin, Shadowkit, sitting by their mother. Their mother was black with blue eyes and white paws. The twins were black with blue eyes, but I could see subtle differences. Nightkit had a longer tail and his eyes showed warmth and kindness. Shadowkit had broader shoulders and his eyes showed contempt and icyness. "Nice eyes," Shadowkit sneered. I shrank back a bit, and Solarkit stepped infront of me. "Leave my sister alone!" he hissed bravely. "And what if I don't," he retorted and pounced on Solarkit. "Stop it!" I yowled and scratched at the bigger tom. Nightkit bowled him over and the two brothers fought, but it was useless since they were evenly matched. The scuffle was broken up by my mother and the black queen. "Stop it! Right now!" yowled the black queen. They broke up, panting. "Kits never learn do they, Ravenflight?" asked my mother. Ravenflight looked at the twin toms and ordered, "You two go outside and play." Shadowkit stomped out, while Nightkit look nonchalant about the whole thing. "No they don't, Flamingsoot," replied the black queen, Ravenflight. Chapter 2 Moons had passed. The twins were now apprentices, Nightpaw and Shadowpaw, and more queens were in the nursery. It was getting crowded, but thankfully my brother and I were becoming apprentices today. "Solarkit, Redkit. Time for your cerimony," whispered my mother, Flamingsoot. We ran out of the nursery as Onestar called the meeting. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here benieth Tall Rock for a Clan meeting!" he yowled. My brother and I sat at the base of Tall Rock while the Clan formed a semi-cicle around us. I searched the crowd for the twins and saw them next to my mother. Nightpaw waved his tail at me and Shadowpaw hissed. Shadowpaw had gotten meaner and meaner since his apprentice cerimony. He preffered to pick on me, and usually it was about my red eye. Luckily, if Solarkit or Nightpaw were around, they would stick up for me. "Solarkit. From this day forward untill you earn your Warrior name, you shall be known as Solarpaw. Ravenflight. You shall be his mentor," said Onestar. Solarpaw was very pleased with this, for he and Ravenflight had been very close untill the queen moved out of the nursery. He and Ravenflight touched noses and moved into the crowd. "Redkit. From this day forward untill you earn your Warrior name, you shall be known as Redpaw. Blackfur, you shall be her mentor," said Onestar. All I knew about Blackfur was that he was the twins' father. I was nervous because Shadowpaw had obviously gotten his anger and icyness from somewhere, and it was not from his mother. As he padded up to me, though, I saw kindness and pride in his green eyes as I met his gaze evenly. We touched noses and the crowd cheered. "Redpaw! Solarpaw! Redpaw! Solarpaw!" "Ravenflight, can Redpaw train with us?" asked my brother. Solarpaw was very protective of me and we had a close bond. I think we secretly weren't ready to go seperate ways yet, even if we would see each other soon. "Hmmm... Well, it's up to Blackfur," said Ravenflight. "Yes of course they can! My sister and I had the same problem, and I think it will be better for them," responded the black tom. As we padded out, a cat called, "Wait!! Let us come! I want to help!!" We looked behind us and saw Nightpaw with his mentor, Mudtalon, bounding after us. Chapter 3 "This is the lake. It runs in the middle of the Clans' territorys, and provides us with fresh water," explained my mentor. Solarpaw and I were being shown WindClan's borders as our first apprentice lesson. I took a hesitant step toward the mass of water and looked at Blackfur. He nodded and I walked to the shore. I stuck my forepaws in and shivered a little at the cold. I watched the waves ripple when they met my paws and watched a few tiny fish swarm around them. "What are these fish called?" I asked. "Minnows," Nightpaw explained. "Too small to fish. Even RiverClan won't eat them." I backed out of the water and looked along the shoreline. Two rocks, farther out in the water, jutted out of the lake. I saw a wierd coloring and shape in-between them. A cat-like shape. Nightpaw walked over to me and looked where I was looking. He grew confused and scented the air. "It smells like WindClan, but none of our cats have that colored pelt," he mumbled to me. The cat's pelt was brown tortoiseshell. Blood was foming around her and her sightless eyes gazed at nothing. The erie thing was, her form was almost see through. "Let's go. We have alot more to see," said Ravenflight and the cat vanished. Nightpaw shook his head and we ran back to our mentors. As we continued traveling the borders, Nightpaw walked next to me. "Tell no one about this. We don't want to start anything amongst our Clan, and no one will believe us anyway," he whispered to me. I nodded and we continued our tour. As we came back to camp, a queen, Shrewnose, had taken her kits outside of the nursery for the first time. A little tortie she-cat with blue eyes came up to me. "Hi! I'm Cherrykit," she said, her blue eyes looking up at me. "Hello. I'm Redpaw," I told her. I hoped my eye color wouldn't scare her. "Nice to meet you! How is-" she began, but was cut off by none other than Shadowpaw. "How can you talk to such an ugly she-cat?" he said with fake horror. "Listen you! I don't appreciate you talking to my sister like that, you stupid piece of crow-food!" hissed Solarpaw. "Aww. Does Red''kit'' still need her brother to stand up for her? Is she such a scardy-mouse that she needs her brother or Nightpaw to fight her battles?" he sneered. That was the last straw. Call me a scardy-mouse will he? I thought and scratched my claws across his face. "You leave me alone!" I said and stalked away triumphantly, leaving a stunned Shadowpaw behind me. Chapter 4 "I can't believe it. I thought we would be apprentices together for longer," Nightpaw sighed. "Oh please. You know you want to be a Warrior," I teased. "Yeah," he chuckled. So many moons had passed. Nightpaw and I had become close friends and I wasn't ready to let him go. "I wonder what Shadowpaw's name will be," I said. "Probobly Shadowclaw or something simple like that," Nightpaw mused. "I know what MY Warrior name will be," I said. He snorted. "We may as well just call you Red-eye now and skip the cerimony." I swatted at him playfully. We heard a 'hoot' and looked up. A jet black owl flew over the WindClan camp. Queens herded their kits back to the nursery and Kestrelwing, the medicine cat, watched the owl curiously. It cast a shadow on Nightpaw's sleeping twin as it flew away. "Wow. That never happens," said Nightpaw nonchalantly. We watched Kestrelwing run to Onestar's den. "Well. Your cerimony should be soon," I said just before Onestar leaped on Tall Rock and yowled his familiar meeting call. "We have gathered here benieth Tall Rock to welcome some apprentices to becoming Warriors. There has been a slight change in who will be recieving their Warrior names though," he told WindClan. "Nightpaw, Solarpaw, and Redpaw. Please step foreward," he commanded. The crowd gasped as they realised that Shadowpaw was not among the ones that were named. I was in shock that my brother in I were getting our Warrior names. "Shadowpaw needs to learn how to respect other cats in our Clan, no matter what their opinion is or what they look like," our leader explained, eyeing me. "Onestar, it is only me he picks on. He deserves to be a Warrior as much as Nightpaw," I said, which shocked me as much as the crowd. Onestar looked at me thoughtfully. "If he keeps up his attitude, you can assign him apprentice duties," I suggested. He nodded and said, "Very well. Shadowpaw, please step foreward." He came up next to me, but took an interest in his paws. I thought he would scratch my face off for sticking up for him, but he was silent. "Solarpaw. Do you promise to uphold the Warrior code even at the cost of your life?" Onestar questioned. "I do," came the answer from my deep voiced brother. He had grown so much. "The from this day onward, you shall be known as Solarflare. We welcome you as a full Warrior to this Clan," Onestar finished. Onestar layed his muzzle on Solarflare's head, and the russet tom licked his shoulder in respect. Onestar continued this with Shadowpaw and Nightpaw, who were named Shadowheart and Nightowl. I was named Red-eye, and was proud to have that name. "Time for our vigil," Nightowl said and we moved to the center of camp, the Clan going to sleep in dens around us. Chapter 5 I glanced over at Solarflare. He had his fur fluffed up against the cold wind. He looked over at me. The russet tom flicked his tail towards the horizon. Dawn was on the way. I leaned foreward to see Shadowheart. His ears lay flat on his head, blue eyes half closed in thought. A blast of cold wind hit me, and I shivered violently. Leaf-bare would be here soon. Nightowl pressed against me. I looked up at him. He stared at me thoughtfully, blue eyes sparkling. I buried my head in his fur. He was so warm! He wrapped his long tail around me. I looked over to see Solarflare and Shadowheart watching us. Solarflare looked curious while Shadowheart looked mischievious. The sun rose over the horizon and Flamingsoot came to relieve us from our vigil. My brother, the twins, and I padded to the Warrior's den, found some empty nests, and fell asleep. I felt a prodding in my side. I opened my multicolored eyes to see sunlight filtering through the branches of our den. Nightowl flicked his tail, and I followed him out. He stretched and watched me head for the fresh-kill pile. "Wait. Let's go hunt before we eat," the balck tom said. I perked up. "OK," I agreed. We raced out of camp, the wind at our backs. I felt a sense of freedom that I had never felt as an apprentice. We stopped at a hill and watched the heather sway in the wind. "You didn't have to keep me warm. The sun was about to come up, so it was pointless," I told him. He looked at me. "I would bleed for you," he said matter-of-factly. We heard a snort of laughter behind us. Shadowheart was laughing at Nightowl. "You think it's funny, well you're drowning in it too," Nightowl hissed. "I just came to hunt with you two, and here you are saying you would bleed for an ugly she-cat and let your own twin brother drown in it. How cruel!" he exclaimed. Nightowl took a deep breath, and let it all out. "Maybe you wouldn't drown in it if I thought you deserved to be bled for. Red-eye is smart, loyal, witty, an excellent hunter, and a good friend. You don't deserve it like she does. Why do you think your name is Shadowheart?" he asked calmly. Shadowheart stared at his twin. "You've never gone against me, brother," he said coldly. "I've never been with you, brother," Nightowl said calmly. "No you haven't, but you have never openly opposed me. My dear brother, you will regret this," Shadowheart said ominously and ran back to camp. "Oh dear. I am so dead. Let's hunt, shall we?" Nightowl said nonchalantly. I couldn't help it. I laughed. He always found a way to make things better, and that's why he was my friend. "Yes. Let's hunt," I said happily. He gazed at me, and I felt an unrecognized emotion stir within me. Before I could put a name to it, he ran down the slope. I followed, pawsteps behind him. Chapter 6 "Nice catch!" Nightowl called to me. I had just caught my second rabbit on the far side of my territory. I saw Nightowl stiffen and open his jaws, scenting the air. I looked over and hissed, hackles raising. Coming towards us, was a wolf-like shape. Nightowl and I were hesitant, because he and I had been seeing things that weren't there. A flash of ginger pelts. Brown fur and blue eyes rushing away from camp, only to dissapear over the rise. This seemed to be a real creature, though. As the shape moved towards us, we noticed it was a cat with an unusually long muzzle and silver-gray shaggy fur. His eyes were a stunning golden color, like one of my eyes. "Stay off my territory," I growled before he crossed the border. He stopped, flicking his tail. "I'm looking for Mercy," he said. "We don't know that cat. Go away or we will force you to," Nightowl warned. He watched us closely. "How is Flamingsoot?" the tom asked. I glanced at Nightowl. "How do you know my mother's name?" I questioned. He shook his head. "You must watch out for Ice and Snake. They are wandering around this area with their band of rogues, and are very dangerous," he told us. "And what would these cats look like?" Nightowl asked. "Ice is a small white tom with pale blue eyes, and Snake, well, you'll know her when you see her," he explained. Nightowl and I exchainged confused glances. We heard a rustle in the grass behind the silver-gray tom. A cream she-cat emerged. "Hey. We were a-lookin'-" she paused when she saw us. She was cream colored with a black muzzle, tail, ear tips, and saddle shaped spot on her back. Her amber eyes shined when she looked at me. "Hey there! M'names Rio," she said, being friendly. She had a wierd accent. "This is my niece. She is from Texas, born near the Rio Grande River," the silver-gray tom told us. He turned to Rio. "Where is Tiger? My sister's OK, right?" he asked. Rio flicked her tail. "Back at the cave. She's fine. She's just a-waitin fer ya," Rio told him. The silver-gray tom turned back to us. "Remember the rogues. I'm Wolf. Goodbye Red-eye and Nightowl. I'll see you sometime soon," the silver-gray tom, Wolf, said. " G'bye cous'!" Rio exclaimed and bounded away, Wolf following. It took me a moment to realize what she had said. "Cousin? What- and how did he know our names?" I asked Nightowl. He shrugged. "Let's take the prey home," he said. We headed back to camp. Chapter 7 I thought about Rio calling me her cousin and the way her eyes shined when she saw me. I lay outside the Warrior's den, thinkng about how I've never seen my father. The sun was going down, turning the sky beautiful shades of orange. I thought about Woldf and how he had known my name and Nightowl's. I thought about how our eye colors, exept for my red eye, had matched. How both our pelts were shaggy. I walked into the Warrior's den, finding my mother sleeping in her nest. "Flamingsoot," I wispered, shaking her gently. She blinked and looked up at me. She lifted her beautiful head. "Yes Red-eye?" she asked. "Let's go for a walk," I said, flicking my tail towards the den entrance. She nodded and we left the camp. We sat next to the lake, my gaze wandering towards the rocks jutting out of the water, the place where I had seen the brown tortoiseshell as an apprentice. "Flamingsoot, I saw this cat," I began. "Did you report it to Onestar?" she asked. I nodded. "His name is Wolf," I said. She stiffened. "He had my eye color. His pelt was shaggy like mine," I continued. She kept on staring at the lake, and I felt a sense of dread creep over me. "Who was my father?" I asked. She hung her head and slumped her shoulders. I layed my tail across her flank and she sighed. "Wolf... is your father," she admitted. She looked at me eyes wide. I felt startled, even though I had already assumed this. Flamingsoot had always been a head-strong and loyal Warrior, and now she looked like a scared kit. "Don't tell anyone except Nightowl, not even your brother. Love is not something you can't push away, no matter what the Warrior code says. You can understand love...right?" she pleaded. "Mom. I understand and I won't tell, but what do you mean by I can understand love?" I asked. She twitched her whiskers in amusement. "You don't know? It's so obvious. Well, you will just have to wait and see," she said. She stood up. "I know I can trust you. Wolf is a great cat, and don't let anybody tell you differently," she said and headed back to camp. I heard a second set of pawsteps and scented Nightowl. I turned and looked at him. Nightowl and Shadowheart were always easy to tell apart for me. Nightowl P.O.V. Red-eye turned and looked at me. Her fur ruffled in the wind and her multicolored eyes looked sad. "umm... Flamingsoot said that you had something to tell me," I said. She patted her tail on the sand, and I sat next to her. She waited a long time to say anything, but I was patient. "I don't know if I want to tell you. You might think badly of me, and I desperatly need our friendship," she said sadly. I gazed at her, enjoying the feeling of being next to her. I pressed close to her. "This news may have changed me," she warned. I took a deep breath. "Even if we change, well I'll love you anyway," I wispered gently. She turned and gazed at me. "You... love me?" she asked. I nodded. "I always have," I told her. "I'm not full WindClan. Wolf is my father," she told me, and stared at the lake. "I don't care," I growled. "I love you too," she wispered. My heart skipped a beat.I felt a purr swell in my throught. We gazed at each other until the sun dissapeared beyond the horizon. A/N: Title of sequel- Blood Red Sun. Coming soon!!